Search This Blog

Late Notes (May 6th)

So, for example, if Vandy finishes 15-13 (.536) and Auburn finishes 16-14 (.533), Vandy would get the higher seed. Need­less to say Vandy wan­ted to get in those last two games with Geor­gia given the Bull­dogs' struggles.

-The Auburn wins over Arkansas have juggled the Hogs rotation going in to their key series with Ole Miss:

Sophomore Brett Eibner (3-4, 4.30 earned run average) will no longer juggle being a full-time hitter and part-time position player and pitcher. He'll vacate his spot in the weekend rotation to help solidify the team's defense and will provide relief pitching when needed.

Moving Eibner opens up a spot in the rotation for freshman D.J. Baxendale, who has seven saves and two starts in 20 appearances. Baxendale (0-0, 3.79) will pitch on Saturday against Ole Miss, joining regular Drew Smyly (7-0, 2.19) in the rotation. Randall Fant (3-1, 3.38) will start Sunday, returning to the spot he vacated after a misdemeanor arrest a few weeks ago.

-How many SEC pitchers have thrown perfect games? 7, with Auburn holding the only two modern perfectos. Eric Brandon vs Murray State in 2002 and Jason Johnson vs LaGrange in 1991. However Johnson's was a 7 inning mercy ruled game.

Righthanded reliever Scott Shuman, a 19th-round pick last year from Auburn, continued to open eyes with his power sinker and plus slider. The 22-year-old had fanned 14 and walked six in 11 1/3 relief innings. People who saw Shuman in the Appalachian League last year had similar things to say about him.

-What a week for Josh Donaldson. First, he gets called up to the Bigs, fulfilling a dream for the former Auburn and Faith Academy Star. Then his first major league hit? A Home Run. War Damn Donaldson.

-Surely there can't be more than one Chezz McCann in the world. According to this article dated May 4th, 2010, McCann has signed with AUM (Auburn University Montgomery). I knew he was away from Auburn and I guess now we've figured out where he landed.

- This has been making the rounds but here's a good one on one with Coach John Pawlowski and his rebuilding of Auburn so far:

Q: Is there any aspect of this team that you would deem a disappointment so far this season?

A: I really prefer to use the phrase work in progress, but it would be our weekend rotation. We have given a lot of guys opportunities to start in the weekend rotation. We have changed things up a bit here lately, but the pitchers have adapted to the idea that there is a chance their roles may change at some point during the season. But overall, this weekend rotation very much is still a work in progress. That probably needs to change down the stretch.

Morris was drafted by the Boston Red Sox out of high school with the 84th overall pick, but decided to go to college instead.

"I was very excited and felt like I was ready to go play at that time, but as the decision got closer, it was just one of those things where I didn't want to miss out on a chapter of my life and a chapter of my baseball career," Morris said. "You never get college back."

-Mississippi State is going to come into Plainsman Park limping. The Bulldogs have dropped 8 straight. Including a surprising mid-week loss to Jackson State:

Jackson State beat Mississippi State 3-1 Tuesday night at Trustmark Park, knocking off the tradition-rich program for the first time in 18 years.

The Tigers (29-14), in position to win their first SWAC title in a decade, won their 10th straight game and won for just the eighth time in 58 meetings with Mississippi Sate (20-24).

"I feel like we stepped into the perfect storm," Mississippi State coach John Cohen said."(JSU) did everything at a heightened level."

-A nice AL.Com profile of Austin Hubbard and his role of being a closer, but not really fitting the mold of a stereotypical closer:

Austin Hubbard had just set­tled into the role of Auburn's closer when he realized he would never completely em­brace the lifestyle.

Sitting in the locker room be­fore an SEC game last spring, he had his iPod on and his ear­phones plugged in.

"I'm listening to music and our volunteer coach asked me what I was listening to," Hub­bard recalled. "'Jack John­son.'" The answer drew a quizzical look, and then a good-natured reprimand from the coach for listening to a soft-rock singer-­songwriter.

"He said, 'You're a closer. You need to listen to crazy, heavy-metal stuff.'" Music aside, Hubbard has made the transition from spot starter his first two seasons at Auburn to one of the premier closers in Tigers history. His 12 saves as a junior in 2009 rank fourth on the school's single­season list. His 16 for his career rank in the top six.

“Obviously, I’d like to get more at-bats and I think I’ve put up good numbers to deserve more at-bats, but at the end of the day, I’m having a decent junior year,” Patterson said. “I’m not trying to hit home runs, just trying to square the ball up and get good pitches to hit. It’s just resulted in a lot of home runs for me.”

This continuous power surge has led to Pawlowski and Jarrett considering the possibility of batting Patterson against everything the SEC has to offer, including left-handers.

“You look at his numbers and then you go ‘OK, is he better suited to face a lefty than some of our right-handed bats?’” Pawlowski asked. “He’s made it an interesting topic now for us.”

...the Diamond Dolls gift designated to the EAMC Cancer Center paid for breast and prostate cancer screenings for underserved members of our local community. These free screenings led to the detection of some cancer cases. Without this access to free testing, these people might have gone undetected until it was too late for treatment. The foundation also supports many other programs for the underserved, like diabetes treatment supplies, prenatal care, Bethany House, Unity Wellness and Lifeline devices that enable the sick and elderly to stay in their homes.

-The LSU student newspaper, spurred on by the Ole MIss "dogpile" controversy are starting to voice their displeasure with the Rebel Rivalry:

An Ole Miss alumnus piled on an advertisement in the newspaper trumpeting “The year the Rebels yelled and the Tigers whimpered,” which added men’s and women’s tennis and men’s golf to the aforementioned Mississippi mastery during the past year. “Thank you Rebel coaches and players for making this a banner year for Rebel fans who view LSU as our biggest rival,” the ad proclaimed. The “Hotty Toddy” hollerin’ harlequin behind the ad declined to comment for this piece, but we at The Daily Reveille have comments for him and all of his ilk. We, as students of LSU, have little time for this “rivalry.”